The Montana Department of Justice received the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative 2020 grant award as a direct receipt. This opportunity will allow Montana the ability to continue its work to end the backlog of untested and partially tested sexual assault evidence kits. Additionally, DOJ is proud to continue the work already begun from previous SAKI grants (2016, 2017) to improve the response to survivors of sexual assault and provide training for responders. Montana DOJ’s utilization of the BJA evidence-based response model below and the SAKI Task Force will ensure our SAKI 2020 goals and objectives are met.
Montana implemented BJA’s evidence-based response model to address the issue of unsubmitted sexual assault kits. The essential elements of the model include the following:
- A statewide inventory of all untested sexual assault kits.
- Development of a multidisciplinary working group to identify and address challenges to sexual assault crimes.
- Designate a “site coordinator” who will serve as the central point of contract for the site team.